Strawberry Swirl Cupcakes

It took me a while to get back to the business or should I say that I feared that I had almost lost my mojo to be back here. It was the start of new year and how strangely I was almost out of inspiration to bake or to photograph again. But the sense of losing it was there and I could easily see things getting out of my hand. I just wanted to end that state soon and hence started feeling a bit relentless within. Good thing is that the realization happened soon and it was as close as snapping my finger to come out of it. Every time I visited my local vegetable and fruit seller, my eyes gleamed looking at the wonderful fresh produce available in this beautiful winter season. I always wait for winters, because of the amazingly fresh and colorful vegetables and fruits (including strawberries). Yeah, we get loads of juicy red strawberries in winters here. I just wanted to bake! So last Friday, when I went to buy my weekly stock of veggies, I got back home, buying three boxes full of them. I couldn’t settle for any less. Meanwhile, I already had in mind, what am I going to do with them. Yes, I was going to turn them into these gorgeous little strawberry swirl cupcakes. Look at them! They are just so pretty to cheer up anyone. How could I not feel so good about them then! Although, I felt that I didn’t do much of a justice with the photographs, but I am still happy that it was a tiny little phase which I just got over. And I felt even more inspired to start my journey this year.

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper cases. Place strawberries in a blender and process until smooth. Reserve three tbsp of strawberry puree for frosting.

Place flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.

Whisk milk, butter, eggs, vanilla and remaining strawberry puree together in a separate bowl. Fold the liquid ingredients mixture into dry ingredients mixture, until just combined. Divide mixture between paper cases. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of 1 cake comes out clean. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Meanwhile, make Frosting Using an electric mixer, beat butter in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Gradually add icing sugar and milk, beating constantly until combined. To make two tone frosting, divide the frosting into two equal parts. To one of the parts, add strawberry puree and few drops of red food color, just enough to make a light pink color, until well combined.

Now take two piping bags and fill one of them with plain buttercream and the other one with pink buttercream. Flatten them gently. Take another piping bag fitted with a nozzle of your choice and slid in both the filled piping bags together into the piping bag with nozzle, ensuring both the bags reach into the nozzle equally. Pipe the frosting onto cooled cupcakes into swirls. Serve.